Printer
TextSupervisor Cook Announces Fairfax County Will Acquire Closed Kings West Swim Club For Storm-Water Management and Park Use
*Process Underway to Convert Land from Vacant Pool to a Park
*Step 1: DPWES scheduled to begin demolition and restoration in fiscal
year 2012
As many of you may know, the Kings West Swim Club located off of
Tapestry Drive has been closed for about five years, having suffered from
declining membership. The abandoned pool has been a safety concern as
well as an aesthetic blight on the community. Many efforts to find other
uses for the property, including additional homes and a day care center,
did not pan out for a host of reasons, but mainly, because the majority
of the nine acre parcel lies in a Resource Protection Area (RPA). It is,
however, ideal for storm water management and a neighborhood park.
After significant community consultation, Fairfax County has found a
solution to this vexing community concern. The Fairfax County Department
of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES) Storm Water Management
Division and the Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) will partner to
incorporate the property into the Park Authority’s Stream Valley Park
Network, which will provide needed water quality enhancements in the
Rabbit Run Branch of the Pohick Creek Stream Valley and protect the
sensitive Resource Protection Area.
DPWES will replace the asphalt parking lot and basketball court, the
pool house, tennis courts and the pool with landscaping and low impact
bio-retention techniques to reduce storm water flows and improve water
quality. The path intersecting the property will be realigned from the
bridge to Tapestry Drive and the remainder of the property will be
reforested. DPWES has put the project on its Fiscal Year 2012 (FY-12)
work plan.
The Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) has agreed to acquire the
property once all impervious surfaces are removed.
The innovative plan is reflective of an increased cooperative effort
between FCPA and DPWES regarding storm water runoff in response to
Environmental Protection Agency mandated Municipal Separate Storm Sewer
System (MS4) requirements. That program seeks to reduce impervious
surfaces and reduce harmful pollutants from flowing directly into local
water bodies. The stream that runs through the Kings West property
empties into Royal Lake.
This is a significant achievement for the Braddock District. The Park
Authority picks up additional land for the park system, DPWES picks up
MS4 credits, and the community is able to pick up additional green space
while disposing of a property whose facilities have been closed for
years. The removal of the pool and its amenities also removes a potential
health hazard, eyesore, and crime magnet. Additionally, the plan avoids
potential financial liability for pool board members, who have served in
the best interests of the community and were subject to potential legal
obligation.
Supervisor Cook would especially like to thank Anthony Vellucci, his
appointed representative to the Park Authority, the Pool Board members
for their dedication to the community both before and after the pool
closed, and staff members of the FCPA and DPWES for working with his
office and the community to convert a community challenge into a
community success story.
Website Survey 